BMW News

Mac or PC? This was a debate for quite a while just a decade ago, even though the PC's market share was astronomical compared with Apple's. It was a topic that always arose when someone started to talk computers. As smart phones took over our lives, the question changed: iOS or Android? Is the next big debate going to be over what OS is in your car?

From the beginning, car manufacturers designed their entertainment systems similar to a home entertainment system. You tuned into a radio station, put an 8 track/tape/cd in the console, or plugged your MP3 player into the aux jack. But over the last few years, the manufacturers have been trying to keep up with smartphones. BMW has even announced that they will have their own app store!

If you're a BMW owner and use iOS devices, you have quite a few apps that you can use with BMW ConnectedDrive Apps. If you're an Android user though, you may feel like a second-rate citizen, even though Android's World market share is 83.1% according to Forbes. Here is a break down of the apps that you can run with each device:

AppAndroidiOS
Amazon Music 
Audible
AUPEO! 
BMW M Laptimer 
Deezer
Facebook
Glympse
Google Services
GoPro 
Rhapsody
Last Mile
Pandora 
Siri/Google Now
Activation
 
Spotify 
Stitcher 
TuneIn 
Twitter

The non-supported Android apps that most likely bum out most tech-savvy BMW drivers are the BMW M Laptimer, GoPro, and Google Now Activation. M Laptimer and GoPro are two great apps that really enhance a track day experience and Google Now activation would simplify voice commands as you would only have to remember one set of commands. The rest are mostly audio streaming apps and can be listened to via an audio cable.

If you're familiar with Moore's Law, you start to wonder why car manufacturers are trying to keep up with communications technology. The software manufacturers understand this and have announed their own in-car systems since they know cars don't get upgraded very often. Google has their Android Auto and Apple has their CarPlay. Most manufacturers have signed up to be included with both systems, BMW Group has only signed up to partner with Apple, once again leaving their Android customers hung out to dry.

We have not had our hands on either of these systems, but they appear to work as a secondary OS. The car's system controlling most everything until you plug in your phone, then their corresponding OS will take over the car's infotainment system.

Android Auto will provide the user with a simplified system that will look very familiar to Android's apps. Android Auto will be able to display Google Maps for navigation, Google Play for music plus the ability to stream from other apps including Spotify and Pandora, access to Google Now voice controls, and will allow for more growth of apps as soon as they get optimized to run on the Android Auto system.

Apple CarPlay works the same way as Android Auto does, just plug your iPhone into the car and the iOS software takes over. As it says on the Apple website, you can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, listen to iTunes, plus have access to multiple apps that will be configured for CarPlay.

Both of these systems appear to offer a simplized operating system that will be familiar to what people use all the time on their smartphones. To offer only one of these systems to your customers is quite surprising and kind of segregates them. Most manufacturers will be offering both systems including: Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Mazda, Opel, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo.

Let's hope that in the future, it won't matter what device you prefer to use. Maybe in the future you'll get the question from a car sales person, "Android or iOS?"—Nate Risch